MUSTARD FAMILY. Cruciferae. 



MUSTARD FAMILY. Cruciferae. 



A large family, widely distributed. Both the English 

 and Latin names are appropriate, for the watery juice of 

 these plants is pungent, like mustard, and the flowers 

 spread out their four petals in the form of a cross. They 

 are herbs, the leaves alternate or from the root, usually 

 with no leaf-stalks. The flowers have four petals, with 

 claws; four sepals, the two outer ones narrow, apt to drop 

 off ; six stamens, two of them short. The ovary is superior, 

 usually with a single style and stigma, and usually de- 

 velops into a pod, divided in two by a transparent parti- 

 tion, which remains after the pod has opened from below; 

 in some kinds the pod remains closed. The flowers 

 generally grow in clusters and though they are often small 

 they produce honey and so are frequented by bees and 

 flies. The family is easily recognized by the four petals 

 and in most species by two stamens being shorter than the 

 others, but the flowers are so much alike that the various 

 kinds have to be determined by examining the fruit. 

 Radish and Horse-radish, Mustard and Water-cress all 

 belong to this family, as well as many familiar garden 

 flowers, such as Sweet Alyssum, Candytuft, Rockets, and 

 Stocks, and many are common weeds, such as Peppergrass 

 and Shepherd's Purse. 



There are several kinds of Dentaria, smooth perennials, 

 with rather large white or pink flowers and tuberous root- 

 stocks. 



A charming plant, with a purplish stem, 

 Milk Maids, from six inches to two f eet ta ll, and pretty 



Pepper-root ... ,, r 



DentMa leaves, varying in shape, those from the 



Calijomica root being roundish in outline, or with 



White, pink three leaflets, but the stem-leaves with 



Cal^Ore thfee r fiVG leaflets> The flowers are 



about three-quarters of an inch across, 



with pure-white or pale-pink petals. This is one of the 

 loveliest of the early spring flowers in the Coast Ranges 

 and usually found in damp spots, both in woods and open 

 places, often whitening the meadows with its blossoms. 



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